


Evan Buckley Week 2020

by firstdegreefangirl



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Bobby and Athena have adopted buck, Buck can cook, Chris has two great dads, Day Five tags:, Day Four tags:, Day One tags:, Day Seven tags:, Day Six tags:, Day Three tags:, Day Two tags:, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Evan Buckley Week, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Ficlet Collection, Firefam Feels, Flirting, Hurt/Comfort, Innuendo, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sickfic, Team as Family, at least without combusting, buck can only handle so much of it, buck just wants to let eddie love him, but he can also do ~other things~, eddie is a sweet boyfriend, eddie just wants to love buck, even if he doesn't know it yet, ish, let's face it, rated T for chapter two, taking care of family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstdegreefangirl/pseuds/firstdegreefangirl
Summary: Seven days, seven prompts, and more free time than I know what to do with. Cross positing on Tumblr
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 332





	1. Day One: "That's my Family"

“Dad,  noooo !” Christopher shrieks and giggles as Eddie pushes him on the tire swing. “I said I wanted to spin, not go high!” 

“What’s that?” Eddie laughs right along with his son, and Buck adjusts his sunglasses from his position on a nearby bench. “Spin you higher?” 

In a nearly perfect move, Eddie shoves the  tire so it rotates as it glides through its arc. Christopher starts laughing even louder, squealing with pure joy. 

It warms Buck’s heart, getting to spend a bright spring day at the playground with his boys.  They may as well have the place all to themselves, too; the only other people there are a girl who looks to be a couple years older than Christopher, and her mother. The mom is sitting on a bench identical to Buck’s but on the other end of the  park , while the little girl  pats sand into neat, even piles and sticks a twig in the top of each one. 

It’s all she’s done since they arrived, but she seems perfectly happy. Buck hasn’t paid them much mind, choosing instead to watch Christopher running across all the different equipment, navigating the obstacles incredibly well, especially given his crutches. The ladder is a little difficult, sure, but there’s stairs he uses instead, and he’s old hat at exactly how to position himself to get down the slide without jostling too much and slowing himself down. 

They’ve taken turns chasing him around,  waiting for him to get tired enough that he won’t protest going home to watch a movie.  But it’s already been close to an hour, and the closest he’s come to slowing down is insisting that Eddie help spin him around on the tire swing. 

Which brings Buck’s attention back to the present, where Eddie’s figured out that he can jump at the end of the push and catch his toes on the edge of the tire, letting him swing with his son. They’re both laughing gleefully,  and Buck can’t keep the grin  off of his own face as he uses the dark tint on his sunglasses to his own benefit. 

If no one can see what he’s looking at, then there’s nothing and nobody to stop him from staring at the pull in Eddie’s biceps as he holds his body weight up on the chains, is there?

Except, apparently, the other mother, who’s just found a seat for herself next to Buck. 

“Gracious, can you believe them, being so loud and rowdy?” She peers over the top of her own glasses and rolls her eyes. “No respect at all for anyone else out here. I mean, really, who do they think they are ?” 

_Who are they?_ Buck rolls the question around in his mind before he answers. His instinct is to reply with something scathing, really put this stranger in her place. But come to think of it, he actually has no idea what they are. 

He and Eddie are together almost every night, even when Chris is having a sleepover with his Abuela.  When all three of them are there, there’s homemade pizzas or Lego tower contests, or movie nights after Chris does his homework, when everyone is asleep practically before the opening credits. 

But when he and Eddie are alone? Buck doesn’t have the words for that. At least, not yet. Whatev er they are, the lazy kisses on the sofa, the way Eddie throws his arm across Buck’s shoulder and runs a finger along his bicep, how he always has Buck’s favorite mug filled with hot cocoa when he knows they’ve had a long shift, it’s the best thing Buck has ever had. 

But who  _ are _ they?  _ What _ are they? 

Well, Buck really only has one answer for that.

“That? That’s my family.” 

And before the snobbish woman can say anything in reply, Buck is gone, jogging toward the tire swing so Eddie doesn’t have to keep jumping off to give them another push.


	2. Day Two: "Why Are You Naked?"

“Honey, I’m home!” Eddie can’t help himself  as he pushes open the front door, laughing at himself. 

It’s not often that he and Buck don’t have the same days off, but Buck’s been at home all day, and promised a special dinner  when Eddie finished his shift. He stops inside the door to toe off his shoes and takes a deep breath. 

The air smells spicy, sharp in a way that it only does when Buck has spent most of the day in the kitchen. There’s not any one  particular spice that stands out, other than the distinct fragrance of fresh bread, and something he thinks might be tomato-based. 

Whatever it is, it smells heavenly, and he rounds the corner into the kitchen with every intention of telling his boyfriend as much.

But he’s immediately distracted by the sight of Buck, facing the stove, his completely naked body on display. The closest thing he’s wearing to “clothing” is a  dish towel thrown over one shoulder, and it’s clear that he hasn’t heard Eddie over whatever’s playing in his wireless headphones. 

So, Eddie does the only thing any reasonable man would do. 

He walks across the kitchen and molds himself against Buck’s back, snaking one arm around his waist and reaching up to pull out an earbud with the other as he nips playfully at Buck’s shoulder. 

“Not that I’m complaining,  _ God _ , I’m not complaining, but why are you naked?”

“Oh!” Buck startles when Eddie makes contact, confirming that he’d been totally oblivious to his presence.  “I was making bread to go with dinner, and the flour got out of hand. Didn’t want to make even more laundry for us, so I just pulled the shirt off entirely.”

“ Mmm .” Eddie hooks his chin over Buck’s shoulder and kisses his cheek. “And did you get flour on your pants too?”

“No?” Buck seems genuinely confused.

“Then where’d they go, if I wasn’t here to take them off?”

“Um …" Eddie can feel Buck’s skin warming up, the blush working its way down his neck. “The waistband was itchy. And I had to stir the creole,  so I couldn’t go put sweats or anything on. Oh, we’re having shrimp creole for dinner, by the way.”

“Smells fantastic, baby.” Eddie’s gone lax against him now, the exhaustion from his day taking over as he lets Buck support his weight and runs his words together lazily. “Do I even  wanna ask about your boxers?”

“Eddie!” Buck pulls the towel  off of his shoulder and snaps it behind him to  _ thwack _ Eddie lightly. “What kind of miscreant cooks dinner wearing nothing but underpants?”

“The … kind who doesn’t cook naked? This is a pretty risky venture, Buck. What if the sauce splatters? ” He reaches forward to dip a finger in the skillet, bringing it to his mouth to taste. “ Mmm , would hate for you to get hurt with something so delicious.” 

“What can I say, Eds? I live on the edge. Besides, I knew you’d be home soon, and … you know, creole really tast es best if you let it simmer for a while. Figured maybe we could … throw a lid on this, head upstairs, I’d h elp you … relax after work, then we’d eat?” He takes the lid and covers the pot, then steps them both away from the stove.

“An ideas man, are you?” Eddie brings both arms around Buck’s waist and squeezes. “It’s a good thing lunch ran late today, otherwise I’d be too hungry to … relax.” He grabs the end of the towel Buck is still holding and uses his free hand to spin him around, then pulls the towel to guide Buck down the hallway. “But, y’know, I’ll have to do _something_ before dinner. Gotta … work up an appetite, after all.” 

He pulls Buck in for a passionate kiss and kicks the bedroom door closed behind them, ready to keep them both busy until dinner is ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my bestie up north for helping out with the basic premise here, because it turns out that my 3 a.m. writing skills are FAR better than my 3 a.m. idea-having skills
> 
> See you tomorrow!  
> xoxo


	3. Day Three: "please don't close your eyes" + hurt

“ Buck , E van , hey, no, baby, no. C’mon, you heard the doctor. You know the rules. Look at me. Look here, look at my eyes. You’ve  gotta stay awake.” 

Evan  is kneeling next to  Buck, who’s lying  on their bed when he hears the front door open and Pepa call out that she and Chris are back from the pharmacy.  He’s just gotten  Buck  to turn his head and look at  him , but he’s still blinking too slowly, longer and longer each time. 

“C’mon,  Buck ,  gotta stay with me.”  Eddie  squeezes his shoulder as he hears the tell-tale clacking of Christopher’s crutches coming down the hall.

“ Psst !  Daddy !” He stops in the doorway and whispers loudly across the room. “Does  Bucky’s  head still hurt?”

“Yeah, it does, kiddo. He got brained  pretty hard , so it’s  gonna hurt him for a few days.  But we’ll help him feel better, won’t we?”  Eddie  looks at Christopher, at how worried he looks as he stares at  Buck , and turns back to whisper to  Buck . “Eyes  _ open _ , hear me? Don’t think just  ‘cause I turn my back for two seconds that you can go and fall asleep on me.” 

He climbs off the bed and makes his way over to  kneel down in front of Christopher.  “Hey, he’s  gonna be OK, Chris. He’s got a concussion, so he’s going to have a  really bad headache, and he’ll be really sleepy. But we’ve go t to make sure he stays awake so that his brain can keep working. Think you can help me with that? I have to go talk to Pepa for a minute, so can you stay with Buck, make sure he  doesn't fall asleep?”

Christopher thinks for a second, then nods. 

“Yeah! I can tell him all about the lady who brought her working dog to the pharmacy with her!” 

“Alright, Superman.” Eddie can’t help but chuckle as he hoists Chris up and onto the bed next to Buck. “You tell Bucky  your  stories, and watch close that he  doesn't close his eyes. I’ll be right back.” 

Eddie leaves the door open as he heads for the living room, Chris’s animated chatter fading out the further down the hall he gets, but still audible in the background. He quickly thanks Pepa for helping him out, bo th by having Christopher out of the house long enough for him to get Buck settled in, and by saving him the trip to CVS to stock up on Advil and Gatorade . She gives him a long hug, and a pat on the arm, before she leaves, but it’s easy to see how worried he is about his boyfriend down the hall, so she doesn’t hang around too long. 

He’s quiet on his way back to the bedroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of his son interacting with Buck. It’s one of Eddie’s favorite things to see, how well the two of them get along. Sometimes he supposes it’s because Buck isn’t that far from being a very tall , firefighter-certified 8-year-old himself, but that doesn’t make it any less endearing.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he sees as the doorway comes back into view. Instead of being seated by Buck’s legs, where Eddie had situated him, Chris has moved to lay beside him, resting his head on Buck’ s abdomen. He’s  petting Buck’s forearm, and just finishing up telling him how you can’t pet the dogs wearing special vests, because they’re working very hard and can’t be distracted. 

Then he stops talking, and turns his head to stare up at Buck’s face.

“Bucky,” it’s just this side of a whine, but Eddie’s been around Christopher long enough to know that he’s trying not to cry. “Please don’t close your eyes. Daddy says  your brain won’t work if you’re asleep, and I need your brain to help me with my science  homeworks .”

His heart clenches, and Eddie can’t stand to hear his son sound so scared.

“H e’s not falling asleep, Chris. He knows better than to do that.” Eddie makes his presence known, entering the room and joining them on the bed. “Right, Buck?” Behind Chris topher’s back, he pushes a thumbnail into Buck’s calf until he drags his eyes open. “You know the doctor said you can’t sleep for three more hours, so that’s not why your eyes are closed, is it?”

“Nah, ‘s not that.” His words are slurred, but Eddie’s no more concerned that he has been all afternoon, since the doctor had warned them that it’s a common side effect of concussions. “Jus’ wonderin’ ‘f I can still keep up w’th sec’nd grade sc’nce work. ‘S ‘lot to ‘member.”

“Don’t worry, Bucky, I’ll teach you.” Christopher sits up to explain, leaving room on the  mattress for Eddie to  stretch out on his other side.

There's no way any of them will sleep now, not once Chris starts telling Buck about all the kinds of clouds he learned about in school today. 

Eddie knows he’ll be tired in the morning, but it’ll be worth it, knowing the two most important people in his life are safe and taken care of.


	4. Day Four: "You Want to Marry Me?"

It’s a small moment, just another moment in the day, when it occurs to Buck that he needs to propose to Eddie. 

Not like “start looking for a ring and book a nice dinner reservation in a few months”  needs to propose. More like “if he goes to bed tonight without getting engaged, he might die” needs to propose. 

The feeling hits him like a ton of bricks, an emo tional sucker punch that’s  disproportionately  larg e for his surroundings.

But he looks over to Eddie, who’s standing at the island in the station kitchen and reheating leftover pizza for them both.  He’s half-ready to call out  to  him,  because it shouldn’t take 15 minutes to microwave pizza, but the remark sticks in his throat when he sees the other man. 

Eddie’s bent over two paper plates, brow furrowed in concentration,  as he pokes at one of the slices,  passin g something back and forth between the servings.

_ He’s picking the olives off of Buck’s slice _ . 

Wednesday night is pizza night at the 118, and they always get the same order: one pepperoni, one sau sage and three supreme.  It’s the closest to a perfect arrangement they’ll find , but the only thing they ever leave for leftovers is the last half of a supreme pie. 

Buck’s never said anything, doe s n’t want to hold the rest of the team back over something silly like pizza toppings,  but whenever he eats the leftovers, he always leaves a tiny pile of olive slices on the side of his plate. 

When he eats pizza at home with Chris and Eddie, they order cheese and meat lover’s, so the toppings have never come up. 

But still, Eddie’s carefully pulling the olives  off of one plate and moving them to the other. He steps back, gives the pizza a last once-over and pops it in the microwave.  When he looks up, Buck is still staring at him, but as soon as he realizes he’s been  seen , he looks ba ck at the TV screen.

The microwave beeps, then Eddie is dropping down next to him on the sofa and passing him one of the plates. 

“Thanks, Eds.” Buck looks down, and sure enough, there’s not a sin gle speck of olive on his plate. 

And he knows what he has to do.

“Hey, man, give me an olive.” He looks over and holds his hand out expectantly.

“What?”

“An olive. I need to see one of your olive slices.”

“Buck, you hate olives on pizza. I’ve seen you pick them off week after week.” Eddie stares at him in confusion. “Why do you want one now?”

“Just … trust me.”  Buck wiggles his fingers. “I need to see an olive slice.” 

Eddie rolls his eyes, but pulls one off of his slice and drops it in Buck’s palm. 

Buck rolls it across his palm, then pinches it between his thumb and forefinger and holds it back out.

“I know … I know it’s not a real ring, and I promise I’ ll get you one and do the whole real thing later, but I … I just don’t want to wait around for all of that?”

“Buck?” He looks from the olive up to his boyfriend’s face. “ Are you trying to …"

“No, I-I'm not. Not yet.  I’m going to, Eddie, I swear. But I’m not asking yet. I’ll do better, with a ring and a speech and everything. This is just … I want to marry you, and I need you to know that.  Um, I  dunno , it’s like a … pre- posal ?  Until then.” 

Buck feels his face fall when Eddie doesn’t respond right away, but then he’s reaching out to wrap both of his hands around Buck’s.

“You want to marry me?”  He’s whispering, but his eyes are bright, and Buck  lets all the air out of his lungs in a breathless laugh.

“Yeah.  Yeah I do. And as soon as I find the perfect moment, I’ll ask you for real.” Buck leans  in to kiss him firmly. “And it’ll be the  _ best proposal  _ ever.”

“Well for the record?” Eddie presses another gentle kiss to Buck’s lips before he finishes his thought, unable to help himself. “If this  _ had _ been you proposing,  I would have said yes.”


	5. Day Five: "You're a good liar" + comfort

“Buck?” Athena swings the door open, surprised to see the man she privately thinks of as her and Bobby’s eldest son standing on the stoop. “Did I forget a dinner invitation?” 

“No. I, ah,  I just figured I’d drop by.” He trails off, shoving his hands in his coat pocket and scuffing his toe against the pavement. “Shit, unless you and Bobby had plan s. I can, um, I can go. It’s not a-a big deal . ”

But there’s something in his eyes ; Athena can’t quite pick out what it is , but  he’s missing some of his usual confidence and bravado.  He’s not the “pop over” sort, either, almost always preferring to text a heads up, lest he be turned away at the door. 

Buck is an  integral part of their lives though, having wormed his way into their affecti ons since he joined the 118, and she can’t imagine rejecting him now, when he looks so downtrodden. 

“Evan Buckley,” Athena raises an eyebrow and stares at him. “You know you're welcome here any time. Now, c’mon, get inside before you  burn out my porch light.” She opens the door a little wider and steps back, letting Buck close it behind himself on his way in. 

She turns  to  the cupboard and reaches for three glasses, calling upstairs to Bobby.

“Honey, you’ve got a guest!” 

“What? Were we expecting--” Bobby approaches the top of the stairs, but stops halfway down when he sees Buck standing in the  foyer. “Buck? Is everything OK?” 

“Yeah, I just …" He trails off, and Bobby looks to Athena.

“He wanted to ‘drop by’.” She clarifies, holding up two bottles and facing both men. “ Lemonade or fruit punch ? You can tell we’ve got kids. ” She chuckles. 

“Either’s fine.” Buck is quick to deflect, clearly not wanting to put anyone out.  “Seriously, if you guys had plans, it’s fine, I can head--” 

“Nah, we weren’t doing anything. Just a quiet night at home.” Bobby claps him on the shoulder and passes him a glass of  lemonade from Athena. “ Michael’s got May and Harry for the night, so it’ll be nice to have a little company.” 

Bobby ends up sitting between Buck and Athena on the sofa, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders as they share a knowing glance and settle in to wait for Buck to tell them whatever’s on his mind , the evening news playing quietly on the television to break up the silence . 

An hour later,  the  pitcher  is empty, and Buck still hasn’t said anything other than a whispered thanks when Bobby refilled his glass.  He’s about ready to call it a night, figure out how to pack it in, when Buck sighs.

“ I, um, this might come as a surprise, but I … I didn’t just come over tonight for no reason.” 

“Really?” Bobby feigns surprise. “You ’re a good liar, Buck. But … I think we might have suspected that something was up. Want to talk about it?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t … think so?  I mean, I don’t even really know what’s bothering me. It’s just been a long week – like  _ really  _ long – and Eddie’s been out of town with Chris, so my apartment’s  too quiet and I was just … tired of being alone?  I  dunno , it probably sounds stupid , but …"  He’s staring at his hands, fingers drumming a beat across his kneecaps.

“ It’s not stupid, Buck.” Athena reaches across Bobby to squeeze his shoulder. “You have  _ always  _ got a place in this house, you understand? ” She understands, knows that Bobby does too,  h ow sometimes there’s nothin g to say,  but nothing feels worse than the prospect of another evening alone. 

“Yeah, kid. You don’t have to talk about anything, not if you don’t want to, but we’re your family. We’ve got you , OK?”

“Yeah … yeah, OK . ” Buck’s body visibly sags with relief. “Thanks.  For, um, for the lemonade. ”

“Anytime, Buckaroo.” Athena stands up to collect the empty glasses, and almost misses Buck’s second comment, this one directly more toward Bobby than herself.

“ And …  thanks for  the family.”


	6. Day Six: "I Won't Let You Do This" + angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lowkey this is my favorite one of these so far lol

“Buck, please.” Eddie stares at him, longing and pain clear in his expression.

“No. I can’t, Eddie. I won’t let you do this to yourself.”  Buck takes a step back and looks at the floor. “You  _ know _ my history. You know what kind of person I am. I don’t want to hurt you , and it’ll only be worse if it happens down the road.”

“ You’re right, I do know your history. But I also know that it’s too late for me now. You don’t get to decide how I feel, and neither do I. I can’t help it, Buck,  but I’m  _ so far gone  _ over you.  And you said you feel the same way. So, please, don’t do some noble thing where you give up what you want – what we  _ both _ want – for some alleged greater good. We might get hurt. We’ll probably get  hurt. But I’d sure as hell rather get hurt with you than alone.”

He’s all but begging now, trying to understand how five minutes ago they were curled up on the couch together and Eddie asked Buck how he’d feel about going out on an  official date, as boyfriends, not as  the slightly-more-than-platonic best friendship they’ve been dancing around for months. Buck hadn’t reacted as well as Eddie had hoped he would, and now he’s standing  acr oss the room, slowly backing toward the door every time Eddie tries to step closer to him.

“I’m not worth it.” It’s the sort of sentence that Eddie feels like should be shouted  in the midst of an argument, not whispered as tears slide down Buck’s cheeks. “I want to date you, you have  _ no idea _ , but I know I’ll hurt you, and I’m not wor th that kind of pain, Eds. You deserve so much better than me.” 

“I don’t  _ want  _ better than you, Buck. ” Eddie’s heart cracks when Buck starts crying, but he’s glad that Buck doesn’t back away this time when he crosses the room to take his hands. “I don’t want more than you, or less than you, or different than you. I want  _ you _ , Evan ,  as much of yourself as you’ll let me have,  as long as you’ll let me have it. Because you’re so incredibly worth it to me.  Please, just let me prove that much to you.” 

There are tears on both of their faces now, though Eddie isn’t sure when he started to cry. He’s squeezing Buck’s hands, trying to push every bit of the love he feels for his best friend into the touch. 

Because every word of it is true. He’s not sure when it happened, when he first looked at Buck and saw something more there than a best friend, but after he realized it, he was a lost cause. 

Then came the months of limbo, where they skirted around their feelings, pretending that all best friends hooked up with each other  occasionally . Then more than  occasionally, until eventually they’re kissing goodbye at the front door whenever they part ways . 

Asking Buck to date him felt like the next natural step, but if he’d have known it was going to send the other man reeling across the room, maybe Eddie would have kept the question to himself. Now that it’s out there, though, he doesn’t want to take it back. He just wants Buck to believe that he’s worthy of Eddie’s love. 

So he squeezes Buck’s hands again,  dips his head down to catch Buck’s gaze.

“Please. Buck, I’m going to love you either way, so you might as well let me do something with it. ” He takes a tentative step closer, all the way into Buck’s personal space, and slides one of his hands up Buck’s arm to run his thumb along his jawline.  “If it’s actually terrible, we can take it all back, I promise, but can we at least try?”

It feels like forever before Buck answers, but that’s OK with Eddie. He’ll wait for Buck  as long as he needs to, because he knows he’s worth that much and more. 

Finally, though, Buck squeezes his fingers back and looks up.

“ _ Please _ , please love me. I don’t think I could stand it if you didn’t.” 

Eddie lets out a deep breath and closes the space between them, dropping Buck’s hand to wrap both arms around his waist and  hold him tightly. 

“Lucky for the both of us, I  don’t think I could  stop loving you, even if I tried.” 


	7. Day Seven: Free Day/Sickfic

Buck shifts away from the rest of the team, where they’re all piled onto the seats in the station living room, and tries to stifle a sharp cough, then a low groan as his stomach rolls. 

He hasn’t felt well all day. He woke up with a throbbing headache and could barely manage to choke down a plain bagel for breakfast, and every time the alarm has gone off, he’s had to squint his eyes against the  bright sunshine as the garage doors open and his ears ring.  Now, he’s furiously hot, reminding himself that he can’t go take another cool shower without sparking  curiosity .

But he can still do the job. Just … a little slower and quieter than usual. He’s keeping his distance from everyone, trying not to raise any alarm or get anyone else sick, even if taking the day off is out of the question.

Because Eddie already called in sick today, and they haven’t told the team they’re dating yet, but how obvious would it be if they were both out the same day with the same set of symptoms?

He’s pretty sure he caught it from Eddie, anyway, and  it’s common knowledge at the 118 that Chris has been home from school all week. Eddie’s been taking off early when he can to talk care of his son – Carla fills in the rest of the time, but Chris is pretty attached to Eddie when he’s sick – until  yesterday, when Carla had to go over and take care of them both. 

Buck had already been over a couple times since Chris had taken ill, so he’d figured he was already exposed and relieved Carla after his shift. He’d told everyone he was “going home,” but that’s feeling  more and more true every time he goes to Eddie’s house, even if he can’t say that’s where he’s at. 

He’d stopped for crackers and Gatorade on his way over, then spent the evening dividing his attention between Christopher, lying on the couch in his PJs and watching Frozen through fever-glazed eyes, and Eddie,  who kept trying to get up and tend to his son. 

Not long after Buck threw Eddie’s sheets in the washer and helped him rinse his mouth out in the bathroom, he gave up on the laps up and down the hallway, carrying Chris up to Eddie’s room after the movie ended. 

They’d spent the night all snuggled together, with both Diaz boys flipping the covers on and off as the fever fluctuated. 

And Buck woke up with a mild fever of his own. Which he’d chalked up to the added body heat from being at the bottom of the cuddle puddle, so he fixed light breakfasts for everyone and handed back off to Carla, sure he’d feel better once he got to work.

He didn’t feel better, though. In fact, he feels worse now, and his throat is starting to get scratchy. It’s getting harder and harder for him to cover his symptoms up,  especially when he interrupts Chimney’s movie review with a sneezing fit. 

“Bless you.”  Hen looks over at him, and he sneezes again. “Bless you. Ble—Buck, are you trying to set a world record or something?” 

He shakes his head as he starts to cough, and the amusement in Hen’s eyes turns to concern.

“You feeling alright, Buckaroo? He looks a little flushed, don’t you think,  Cap ?”

Bobby wanders over and presses his hand to Buck’s forehead. 

“Yeah, and he’s hot too.”

“Thanks, Cap. I could use the ego boost.” Buck tries to laugh, tries to play it off, but his voice is raspy.

“Seriously, Buck, do you feel OK? We’ve only got an hour left on shift, if you need to get out of here , take care of yourself.”

“Really, Bobby, I appreciate it, but I’m --” Before he can say “fine,” Buck coughs again and feels the acid crawling up his stomach. His eyes go  wide and he pushes past Bobby and Hen, but only makes it as far as the kitchen sink before he doubles over and gags, the few bites of macaroni and cheese he had for lunch reappearing half-digested.

“O-Kay, that settles that.” Bobby approaches slowly, reaching around Buck to turn the faucet on, and patting his shoulder when he turns his face up for a mouthful of water. “Chim, give Maddie a call, would you? See if she can come pick Buck up or if I need to get ahold of  Athena.” 

“No!” Buck jerks back from the sink and turns around. “It’s-it’s fine, I can drive myself home.”

“Got someone to keep an eye on you?” Bobby eyes him warily until he nods. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll go to Eddi—a  friend’s .” He almost gives his secret away,  but through the haze of illness, thinks he recovers before anyone notices. “He doesn ’t live that far away.”

Bobby carefully schools the grin threatening to break onto his face. 

“Alright, if you’re sure you can get there OK.” Buck nods and coughs gently. “ Well let us know when you’re done driving, OK, kid?” Buck nods again and turns for the locker room to grab his bag. 

Bobby waits for him to have his hand on the doorknob before he calls after him.

“Oh, and Buck?” He turns around. “Give Carla my thanks for looking after you and Eddie this  week, and tell Eddie to feel better. Both of you, feel better.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! What a fun week! Thanks to everyone who read/wrote/organized!   
> xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr at firstdegreefangirl !  
> xoxo


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